


Love Language

by OccupationLove



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Annoying older brother, Homesickness, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, nightmare move in day, the start of something new
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-04 07:44:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14588313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OccupationLove/pseuds/OccupationLove
Summary: Alfred and Ludwig are just two young men attempting to find their path in life. But first, they'll have to pick majors, pass their classes, and somehow complete the nightmare that is college. Through coincidence, or perhaps by fate, they meet each other on their first day; however, the things that follow can only be contributed to them and the attempts to make everything perfect.





	1. Prologue: Move-in Day

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first GerAme chapter fic! I hope you all enjoy this. For this chapter, the POV will be flipping somewhat frequently and I apologize for that. It won't be like this in later chapters.

When the plane touched down, Ludwig thought that perhaps he was in too far over his head. To say that the number of people and level of noise was overwhelming was an understatement. Of course, he reasoned, this wasn’t quite the end of his journey. After all, the campus itself was fairly small and far enough from the city that Ludwig wouldn’t be so stressed. Still the bustle of the people and the newness of being somewhere that wasn’t...well...home was making him anxious. Heart-pounding and palms sweating, he hailed a cab feeling a little like a grade school student getting on the bus for the first time when the yellow vehicle stopped in front of him.

He pushed his luggage into the seat and curled in on himself to force his large body into the small car. The driver raised an eyebrow at him as he buckled his seatbelt, “Where ya headed?”

Ludwig took a deep breath and gave him the address.

* * *

 

Alfred was getting tired of his brother’s rambling, “You know, if I had it my way we’d leave this godforsaken country and go somewhere else. Why couldn’t you have applied to Oxford? I could have at least made a case to our parents then.”

Al rolled his eyes and pulled his phone from his pocket, “You could ‘make a case’ to move to Canada. That’s where Mattie is headed.”

Arthur scoffed, “Like Mom would leave you behind.”

Al shrugged and opened a text conversation with Matthew, “I don’t mean to be rude Artie but if you really want to leave, you should. You’re old enough and this fuss about hating it here really sounds like a 'you' problem.”

Arthur glared at him out of the corner of his eyes, “You’re insufferable. You know that phone of yours is sucking your life away. You’re not going to pass your classes or make friends or get a job by playing ‘Happy Birds’, Alfred.”

He blinked at his brother incredulously, “Angry Birds.”

Arthur scoffed again and reached for Al’s phone, “I don’t really care about the mood of the birds, Alfred. Now, hand it over before it ruins your life more.”

Al pulled it further out of Art’s reach, “No, I’m talking to Matt and you aren’t my mom so you can get over it.”

Arthur put his hand back on the steering wheel and mumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like “I hate you” but Alfred ignored it. Why he never got his license was honestly beyond him at this point. A couple minutes later Arthur opened his mouth again, “When we get there you are going to have to…”

Al turned the radio on and rolled the volume up. He couldn’t wait to get out of the car.

* * *

 

By the time Ludwig arrived on campus, he was ready to fall asleep in the cab. Of course, where he was from it was past midnight. Despite that, he still didn’t enjoy being babied by the driver, “You okay, kid? You know, I’ll tuck you in if you pay me extra.”

Ludwig scowled trying to silently communicate that no he didn’t want to be “tucked in” and also no he didn’t have the money to pay extra. The cab came to a stop and Lud quickly shoved the door open and got out. As he pulled his luggage out and paid the driver, another young man carrying a duffel bag bumped against him and pushed past him, “Leave me alone, Arthur!”

Ludwig caught his balance and watched to boy stomp away. In the opposite direction, another man stood with his arms crossed and car keys dangling from his hand. He took a deep breath and shook his head before walking away, presumably towards a car that Ludwig couldn’t see.

He hitched his own bag over his shoulder and did a slow double take between the two retreating figures. He really hoped college would not be as loud or as dramatic as the scene he had just witnessed.

* * *

 

Alfred was starting to hope that his family would forget about him and not invite him home for the holidays. He really hadn’t meant to push that guy but stopping to apologize meant giving Arthur a chance to catch up and he was less fond of that idea than he was of some random dude thinking he was a jerk. Honestly, when he graduated high school, he thought that college was going to be the next big adventure; instead, so far, it was turning out like some sort of trap where he wasn’t getting what he wanted and still getting yelled at for it.

So basically it was the stuff of nightmares.

But Arthur thought that Al was the favorite child; so, obviously, the only correct course of action was to make his life hell to balance it out. It was frustrating.

At least Arthur got to major in what he wanted when he was in college. Of course, if he was actually doing anything with that degree, Alfred didn’t know what it was. To be completely honest, Al was glad that Arthur hadn’t followed him. He wasn’t sure he could make it through another conversation.

* * *

 

Ludwig had already unpacked when he remembered to call his brother. He found himself scrambling to his bag and nearly knocking everything over as he retrieved his phone. It took Gil only seconds to answer, yelling in German, “Dammit! You’re okay, right? You were supposed to call when your plane landed.”

Ludwig sat on his bed to make himself more stable, “Yes, I know. I apologize. My plane landed at...an hour and a half ago. I got in a cab and came to school and it was a long drive and it was a little hectic when I got here so I…”

Gilbert sighed, “I understand, Lud. It’s okay. I was just worried, you know?”

Ludwig ran a hand through his hair, “I’m sorry.”

His brother’s voice softened on the other end, “Hey… it’s okay. You’re safe. Anyway! I was thinking, being the awesome brother that I am, that I might come visit for your birthday.”

Ludwig smiled and laid back, “ That’s not that far away.”

He swore he could hear his brother rolling his eyes, “Yeah, I know. And?”

He almost laughed, “And I’m just saying that you must be missing me already to be thinking about coming so soon.”

Gil swore, “Shut up! I do not!”

Ludwig blinked up at his ceiling, “Not even a little bit?”

His voice must have wavered because Gilbert sounded sad when he answered, “Oh... I mean yes...but only a little bit.”

Ludwig rubbed at his eyes, suddenly homesick, “Will you come for my birthday?”

Gil took a shaky breath, “Yeah, I’ll be there. I promise.”

* * *

 

Alfred had been in his room for nearly two hours and he had yet to unpack anything. Also, he had left his box of decoration and his box of snacks in Arthur’s car. Basically, he was a little upset and at this point only going to sleep was going to help. Despite that, he had yet to put any sheets or blankets on the cold (plastic? What is that anyway) mattress. He had an empty stomach and for the moment he was alone.

He had been told that his roommate would arrive the next day.

He laid on top of his stiff bed and closed his eyes.

He hoped the next day was better.

* * *

  
Ludwig wasn’t so sure having the room to himself was a good idea in retrospect. He had requested a single because he thought it would be too overwhelming to have someone so close all the time. He wasn’t sure he would be able to treat a roommate correctly simply because it stressed him out to think about their constant presence.

But, now, he was a little lonely.

He was used to his brother running around and being loud and picking on him. He was used to his brother’s friends running in and out of the house. He was used to it being noisy in a familiar kind of way. He was used to having to escape to a quiet space.

He wasn’t thrilled with the idea of being alone in a new country even though it meant his life would be quieter.

Or at least it was silent right then.

He kind of hoped it wouldn’t stay so quiet.


	2. Chapter 1: Hi, My Name Is...

He was late, or rather, he felt like he was late. He had always gotten up at seven a.m. This time, however, it was nearly nine. Of course, Ludwig could very easily blame jet lag and he didn’t actually have class until ten on Mondays; but, he still felt like he needed to be up and moving.

So, as soon as he saw the clock, he was out of bed and in the shower. He would get back on schedule, it would be okay. He didn’t understand why this was making him so anxious.

* * *

 

Alfred wasn’t sure why he woke up so early. He guessed he was excited to go to the Activities’ fair but that was going on all day. Regardless, Al was outside, browsing the clubs at his disposal. 

He really needed coffee.

If he was going to get up early he deserved some caffeine. 

He broke away from the bustling crowd of mumbling students to start walking toward the cafe. Luckily, he’d toured the school enough times to know where he was going. It only took him a few minutes to get there and he was somewhat surprised by how empty it was.

There was only one other student inside and he seemed to have already made his order. Alfred stepped up to the counter but found his eyes drifting over to the man.

Sure, Alfred got up early, but he was still somewhat of a mess. This guy, though...looked like he’d walked straight out of some sort of steam-clean or something. Honestly, Alfred didn’t know how he seemed so immaculate. 

His hair was slicked back and his leather jacket seemed to shine.

The barista noticed Al then and his attention was refocused on her. He was just finishing his order for a caramel mocha when the other guy received his drink. Alfred tried to catch a glimpse of the name on the cup but the mystery guy’s hand was covering it. Fortunately, the guy bumped into him on the way out and apologized with a strong German accent.

Alfred breathed in...he thought that he smelled chocolate.

* * *

 

Ludwig wasn’t sure what compelled him to buy a hot chocolate. Maybe just to calm his nerves or to distract himself. Regardless, he was pretty sure that the young man who had run into him the night before was the person who had come in after him. Or at least he was built similarly and he sounded the same.

And then Ludwig had gone and bumped into him on the way out because of the terrible layout of the tables. He had apologized but he wondered briefly if maybe he shouldn’t have. The other boy hadn’t apologized to him before, after all.

The moral of the story was that if he went to get hot chocolate to calm his anxiety, it wasn’t helping. If anything, the trip had only made him more nervous. 

Why hot chocolate anyway?

It was still August.

Today didn’t seem like it was going to be a good day.

* * *

 

The second Alfred received his mocha he was out the door in the hopes that he would find the cafe guy at the activity fair. Unfortunately, he had no such luck; but, he did find the film club while he was there...and the journalism club...and the math club but he was going to pretend he never saw that one. He signed up for the first two and tried not to think about how Arthur would compare journalism to _ Literature _ .

Right after, he started walking toward Bailey Hall for his ten o’clock class. It was only Calculus; honestly, he wasn’t worried about it at all. He had always excelled in math. In fact, he hadn’t even brought his backpack or notebooks but it was the first day.

They were probably going to go over the syllabus.

* * *

 

Ludwig was still somewhat riled up when he got to his Calculus class. The sweetness of his hot chocolate had eventually soothed some of his worries but he still didn’t really know what to expect at an American school.

So far, they seemed to be a bit chaotic.

There had been so many students in the quad that he had taken the long way around to his class. Still, he was the first one the at 9:45. He took a seat in the middle of the room so he could avoid as much attention as possible. Two and a half minutes later the young man from earlier came in animatedly talking to a fairly-short red-headed girl. “Ah, yes! I’m not from around here. But my grandpa thought this was a great school for me,” she said.

Ludwig could tell she was Italian from the lilt in her words. The young man from earlier looked at him then and smiled, “Oh nice! Where are you from?”

The girl laughed, “Can’t you tell?” I’m from Italy.”

Ludwig silently praised his own identification of her accent. Then the young man pointed at him, “Cool! You from Germany? Or at least a Germanic nation?”

The red-headed girl seemed interested in that, her brown eyes turning toward him. Ludwig tried not to be awkward, “I’m from Germany, yes. But how did you know?”

The young man grinned like he had achieved something remarkable, “I heard it in your voice earlier.”

The Italian girl looked between the two of them confusedly, “You two have met?”

The boy shook his head, “Only for a second.”

It was then that Ludwig noticed that he recognized the sparkle in this girl’s eyes. He recognized her face, her hair, even the way she stood, “Your name isn’t Feliciana, is it?”

Her eyes widened as she locked her gaze on his, “It is, wh-Ludwig?”

Ludwig nodded, somewhat stunned. The still unnamed man raised an eyebrow, “Do  _ you _ two know each other?”

Feliciana nodded and then smiled the same way she did when they were kids, “We played together when we were younger.”

He nodded, “Ok, wow.  Coincidence of a lifetime. Anyway, she called you Ludwig? I’m Alfred. It’s nice to officially meet you.”

He held out his hand and Ludwig took it, slightly surprised at his firm his grasp was.

* * *

 

Alfred was shocked by how soft Ludwig’s hands were. He was expecting a huge amount of calluses. Though, he was sure he was more shocked that Feliciana knew the cafe guy that he had been fascinated by earlier. He had only just met her, quickly finding out they were headed to the same class. He had promised to help her and she had batted her eyes and lowered her tone, “What do I owe you in return?”

He resisted the urge to stutter and hoped he wasn’t blushing, “Nothing. I just thought that it’d be nice to have a friend in this class.”

She looked surprised but shrugged and tilted her head to the side, “Hmm...Well okay then. Tell me if you change your mind.”

Alfred had struggled to change the topic before finally asking about where she was from.

At this point, he had probably been shaking Ludwig’s hand for too long; so, he quickly released his hand and slid into the seat beside him. Alfred opened his mouth to start another conversation but Feliciana sliding into the seat in front of Ludwig and a large group of students flooding into the class interrupted him.

* * *

 

Ludwig was a little confused to be perfectly honest. He understood Calculus, that wasn’t the problem. But he couldn’t say that he completely understood exactly how, after all this time, he was looking at Feliciana again. Of course, she wasn’t paying attention to the professor whatsoever. 

He couldn’t see her notebook, but he knew she was drawing. She had done the same in sixth grade before she had moved away. He wondered briefly if her older sister was at the school as well...until he remembered that Lovina wanted to go to culinary school.

When had he and Feliciana last talked? 

Over a phone call, he was sure. Maybe four years ago?

He hadn’t seen her in what felt like forever. He wondered if she remembered the summer of their eighth-grade year when...A folded piece of paper flopped onto his desk. Ludwig opened it slowly, trying not to be obvious.

It was in German:  _ Do you want to meet for dinner later? _

Ludwig wrote back in Italian to the best of his ability, which meant that this note was likely written at a kindergarten level:  **Yes. Are you free tonight?**

He folded the paper again and tapped her on the back. She reached back a little for the note. A couple of minutes later she tossed it back again. All she had written was “Yes” this time in English. But, just above that, she had corrected his sentence in her curly handwriting. He almost smiled.

* * *

 

They were passing notes. Maybe he shouldn’t be paying attention to them but he was. He could read the syllabus later he just wanted to know what they were talking about. What could he be slightly involved in just by meeting the two of them? He tried to prevent his head from making a movie; but, he couldn’t stop imagining a romance with sweeping wide shots of beautiful scenery and family struggles. It could be like a modern Romeo and Juliet. 

They looked like they were meant for each other so maybe they had fallen in love at a young age and then been separated by their families fighting. And now, against all odds, they were together again.

They would get together and run away and then find trouble because they dropped out of college. She would end up pregnant and he’d have to take two jobs to support her. Just when things got worse their families would reconcile and find them to help. 

The scene would be shot in a storm but get brighter when everything turns around...Was that too cliche? It might be too cliche.

Suddenly, Feliciana was nudging his arm. He looked over at her surprised, “Hm?” 

She smiled, “Class ended.”

It was only then that he realized that they were the last two in the classroom. He only had a few seconds to wonder about Ludwig’s location before he realized he had another class to go to.

“Shit!”

He dashed out of the door as Feliciana laughed behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading. As always all comments and kudos are appreciated!


	3. Everything Happens For A Reason

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY. I COULD TELL YOU ALL THE REASONS IT'S LATE BUT AT THIS POINT YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE ME. So, um, anyway...enjoy.  
> Here's my Tumblr if you guys are interested: https://occupationlove.tumblr.com/

Alfred wasn’t really sure how he felt about his roommate but he was fairly certain that he wasn’t fond of him. To be fair, his first experience with the other boy involved an insanely creepy smile; so, Alfred thought he was at least somewhat justified in forming an instant dislike. He wasn’t afraid of the guy, really. He just... didn’t feel particularly comfortable around him either.

Ivan Braginsky shared Al’s computer science class with him. Due to that, as soon as he had rushed into his class--almost late, mind you-- he ran directly into the solid back of his roommate. That earned him a bewildered look that quickly turned into a face somewhere between a menacing glare and a smile scary enough to cause a shiver to run down his back.

Ivan had reached out a hand in what Alfred assumed was supposed to be a handshake; so, he placed his hand in the other, tentatively. However, instead of the quick handshake and introduction, he was expecting, his hand was trapped in a death grip as Ivan pulled him closer, “Maybe, next time, you watch where you’re going, yes?”

Alfred’s eyebrows furrowed together, “Look, man. I wasn’t trying to-”

“If you had been paying attention you wouldn’t have run into me. No excuses.”

He tried to jerk his hand away in anger but failed, “Listen. If you can’t even _pay attention_ long enough to hear an apology, then you aren’t worth the time, asshole.”

Ivan’s eyebrow raised as if to question Al’s sanity but his smile turned slightly less menacing, “Oh? Pretty boy thinks he is strong, yes?”

Alfred glared, “Pretty boy? My name is Alfred.”

Suddenly, a look of understanding came over the other’s face as he dropped Al’s hand from his death grip, “Ah. The roommate.”

Which, Al thought, was possibly the worst way to find out what his roommate was like. At the time, the last thing crossing his mind was that this overbearing jerk was going to be living with him all year. Actually, his thought process was more along the lines of: 'His name was Ivan, right? That’s what it said in the email.'

Retrospectively, he wondered how he didn’t panic about the room first. He had checked the email right before class had started; so, once his brief identification crisis ended, it had started to settle in that he _had to live with_ this guy. Like, Ivan knew where he slept and that by itself was unnerving enough without the idea that he’d only have to take three steps if he decided to smother Al in his sleep. Not that he would...or at least he didn’t think he would, anyway.

Of course, he never was one to dwell on subjects that concerned him--or at least he wasn’t when he wasn’t being reminded of them--and his attention was fairly quickly swept away by the girl in the front row of the class.

It started with her hair clip. Pink almost flower petal-like cloth swayed over her black hair as she continuously looked back and forth between the teacher and her notes. Unlike his first class, this professor had jumped straight into the lessons, quietly admitting that he hadn’t printed the syllabus yet. Alfred knew some basic computer science from high school and what he was saying seemed to be a basic review of that; so, he wasn’t all that upset when he realized that he couldn’t write down anything for later. But that was beside the point, this girl--despite obviously extensively writing notes--had raised her hand for every single question and answered correctly.

Although he wasn’t that far away from her, he could barely hear her. She was tiny compared to the two boys around her but in spite of that, she stood out. She had a bright pink jacket on and there was an obvious air of confidence, but not arrogance, that she seemed to carry. And if Al was being perfectly honest, there was something magnetic about people with the bravery to ignore the world and be themselves. Of course, he supposed that he didn’t actually know if she was doing that but he very much liked to believe that she was.

He tapped his fingers on the desk in front of him, carefully focusing on her hair clip. He knew he could write a movie perfect for her...but where to start? He was starting to wish he had brought his notebook.

“Perhaps you should not stare, Jones.”

The whisper came from behind him, from Ivan, and sounded much too amused for his liking. Alfred threw a glare over his shoulder but found himself following the advice after facing forward again. After all, the girl could have caught him and felt uncomfortable and that’s not what he was aiming for. Really, he just wanted the opportunity to get some backstory, you know, get to know the girl behind the fascinating features. But, of course, that’s how all his friendships started: a marginal interest that turned into genuine fondness.

He hoped this situation would be the same.

As soon as class ended, she stood up and started putting her notes away in a clear backpack. Alfred pushed himself around his desk and darted forward, holding out his hand before he got there, “Hi! My name is Alfred! What’s your name?”

She raised a perfect black eyebrow at him but caution floated through her eyes as she threw her backpack over her shoulder, “Sakura. And if you are expecting something from me, you’ve gone about this wrong.”

Al lowered his hand, “I...what?”

Sakura shrugged and started walking towards the door, “No, I’m not letting you see my notes. Yes, I dress like this all the time. No, you cannot take a picture with me. No, I will not give you my last name. Yes, I noticed you staring. And no, I will not be going with you anywhere for any intents or purposes.”

Alfred stopped and stared, a bit bewildered. She stopped in the door and turned to face him, “You’re less persistent than you look. Alfred, was it? What exactly did you want?”

He blinked, “Now you want to know?”

She smiled somewhat proudly, “Well, usually, guys have attempted to prove to me that they’re worth my time by now. You have not; so, I only have to assume that you weren’t approaching for anything ignorant.”

He tilted his head to the side, “I wanted to be friends.”

She looked surprised at that, “Friends?”

He nodded as she visibly considered the idea, “Hmm, okay. We’ll work on it I guess.”

Then she disappeared around the corner, giving Al just enough time to catch a glimpse of the Avengers logo on her t-shirt. This was going to be an adventure he could already tell.

Fortunately, he only had two classes that day; so, he was free to do whatever else he wished. 

However, despite the idea seeming thrilling at first, he quickly realized that he had no idea what he wanted to do with his time. This wasn’t like high school when he had a limited amount of time to enjoy himself and had to make a decision fast. No, this was more like anarchy and--even though he hated to admit it-- he was a bit lost. Besides, he didn’t bring any of his video games with him and he wasn’t sure that he wanted to find his way back to his room. What if Ivan was there?

Eventually, he ended up back in the school cafe, people-watching and trying to think up a better way to be spending his time.

“Are you going to order something, friend?”

Alfred looked up at the tall blonde man next to him, “Ah, no. I wasn’t planning on it.”

The man nodded solemnly, “I see.”

But he did not move away from the table or return to work. Alfred frowned, “Is that a problem?”

All he got as a response was a dubious hum before a shorter blonde man burst into the area still tying his apron around his waist, “Ber...Is he bothering you? I’m sorry if he’s bothering you he’s just quiet, you know? Berwald, they need you in the back!”

The taller man nodded and disappeared through a door behind the counter. The shorter man made his way to Alfred as he struggled with the apron ties, “Sorry about that. He’s a little intimidating, right? My name’s Tino; it’s nice to meet you.”

He nodded, “I’m Alfred.”

Tino smiled and looked in the vague direction of the counter and then back at Al, “Say, have you ever worked with drinks before?”

He blinked, “Um...no?”

Tino gave up on his apron ties and rubbed at his soft jawline nervously, “If someone taught you how, would you be interested in working here?”

That was a wild question to be asked on a random lazy afternoon but Al wasn’t about to start questioning something that would occupy him, “Yeah? Are you offering me a job, now?”

The other man nodded, “You just look friendly and businesses generally do better if they have a friendly face to greet customers. There aren’t very many employees here and to be quite honest none of us are great at being at the counter. So, I thought that maybe we could give you a chance if you were interested?”

Alfred opened his mouth to respond but got thrown off by Berwald appearing behind Tino and tying the strings the other had given up on. He coughed and tried to focus, “Um, yeah. That’d be cool. If you’ll teach me what to do, I’ll give it a shot.”

Tino smiled and looked up at Berwald, “Do you like that idea?”

The taller man hummed again and Tino gave him a thumbs up, “Well, let’s get you started then.”

“Now?”

“Yep! Come on!”

Three hours later, Alfred was pretty sure he knew how to operate the machines and had even served two customers by himself. He hadn’t exactly expected to land himself a job on the first day of college but he wasn’t opposed to the idea. Besides, he had never had to work for his own stuff so maybe it would be kinda cool. He could already imagine the look on Arthur’s face when he came home at Christmas with some new clothes, or a new phone, or… a camera.

He knew exactly what he was buying with his first paycheck.

* * *

 

Ludwig wasn’t sure what he was supposed to wear to dinner with Feliciana. Where were they even going? She hadn’t specified and dress-code was different everywhere. And where was he supposed to meet her? They hadn’t planned this out very efficiently. He didn’t even have her phone number; how was he supposed to know what was going on? Given, he still had about three hours before it was time to eat anyway but his lack of information was starting to bother him.

His phone rang from across the room, effectively startling him out of his trance. He made his way to the device, checking the screen for a number and quickly answering once he saw his brother’s picture, “Hello?”

It sounded like Gilbert was busy on the other end as things were loudly moved and clinked together before he spoke, “So, I just got a call from that one girl. You know, the one you used to play with as a kid? Didn’t she move to Italy? Anyway, she wants your phone number and I don’t know what she wants or like if she’s dangerous now that she’s grown up. So, I thought I’d call you before I gave out that kind of information.”

Ludwig smiled at his feet, “That’s unusually responsible for you.”

Gil made an annoyed sound on the other end, “Listen, here! You’ve made it this far in life; so, I’d say I’m pretty damn responsible. I just...I remember when you were thirteen and-”

Ludwig waved his hands frantically, attempting to stop his brother from speaking before he felt utterly foolish--he was on the phone, dammit, “Gilbert! I remember. I remember! I...She’s asking for my number because she goes to school here. And I told her earlier that I’d eat dinner with her. She’s probably just trying to get in touch so that we can plan details.”

“She goes to school there?”

Ludwig started to nod before catching himself and mentally berating himself for it, “Yes. We have a Calculus class together.”

Something crashed on the other side of the line before Gil started yelling away from the receiver, “Dammit! Are you okay?! I told you to be careful with that!”

Ludwig heard another mumbling voice on the other side before his brother returned to the call, “Okay, well, I gotta go and take Liz to the hospital. Should I give the one girl your number then?”

It took a moment before he found his voice, “Wait! What do you...I mean… What… Is she okay?! Lizzy, I mean. And yes giving her my number is fine.”

Gilbert sighed, “Miss ‘I can do everything by myself’ tried to move...something by herself and dropped it on her foot. The thing is okay but I’m thinking that the foot is broken. You can scold her later; I have to go.”

Before Lud got to respond, the line clicked closed and he was left staring at his phone. He opened a text conversation with Elizaveta hovering his fingers over the keys long enough to think of something to say. Eventually, he settled on: **_Are you okay? You should be more careful._ **

Seconds later his phone buzzed with a message; but, Lizzy was not the one who had messaged him.

_Unknown Number: Are we still getting dinner?_

Ludwig wasn’t sure he was happy that his brother had been so efficient about the number. He should’ve been helping their--well, actually, Ludwig had no idea what Elizaveta was to them anymore--but he should be helping her. Despite that, he still had an obligation to be a decent human being and not ignore Feliciana: **_Yes. What time? Where should we meet?_ **

_I don’t have a car on campus. Do you? If not we’ll have to pick somewhere close._

**_I don’t. Do you just want to meet at the cafeteria?_ **

_That works :) I forgot schools had those._

**_What time?_ **

_6?_

**_Sounds good_ **

Finally, Ludwig had a plan to guide him. He had two hours to spare before he had to meet her and even then the cafeteria was close to his dorm so he wouldn’t have to go very far or worry about the time it took to travel too much. With that in mind, he sat down and started to review his syllabi, searching for assignments that he needed to get a head-start on. Of course, he already had some reading to do in his history class; so, he knew what he would start on first but he wanted a solid plan.

An hour and a half later, he had read twenty more pages than he was supposed to because his book was so interesting and to be perfectly honest he wasn’t sure he wanted to put it down to go talk to Feliciana. Of course, part of that was nerves and the fact that he didn’t know what to expect with her. She had always been a spontaneous person and it had _always_ distressed him. Sometimes it was simple things like when she wanted to go swimming even though it was cooling down for fall and the water was much too cold. Other times it was her asking intensely personal questions that put him on edge.

Realistically, the last time he had seen her they had just finished eighth grade and the last time he had talked to her was shortly after that point so she had probably matured a lot since then. Or...well, he hoped she had matured since then.

He, fortunately, was already ready to start walking to the cafeteria fifteen minutes before he was supposed to be there; so, he decided to start the journey early and take a longer way around. He had been to the campus once before, in high school, but his brother had been with him then and he had only been sixteen. He had loved the school’s website and begged to visit for months. Gilbert, unfortunately, did not have the money to pay for two plane tickets. So, Ludwig had gotten a part-time job to pay for his own ticket.

When he finally had enough money, his brother took off work and they had taken a weekend trip to take a tour. He still remembered getting through the campus gates the first time and being so in awe that he could hardly contain himself. He still remembered grabbing his brother’s sleeve and telling him that he wanted to attend the school. He definitely still remembered when Gil had looked back at him and said, “We’ll make it happen.”

It was rare for his brother to be so serious about something, especially something that placed Lud so far away. However, it wasn’t at all out of the norm for him to be supportive in one way or another. Ludwig smiled as he remembered the time that Gil had forgotten his birthday. They had been fighting the night before over something stupid. And both of them had stubbornly claimed that they were in the right. To be perfectly honest, Lud had still been sulking when someone at school had wished him a happy birthday. Of course, that had shocked him because it had always been a tradition that his brother would drive him to get ice cream before the day got going. Or at least it had been for as long as Gil had a license. So, to say he was in a bad mood for most of the day was a given. His brother, however, picked him up from school with permanent marker on his face that read, “I forgot my brother’s birthday and therefore I’m not as cool as you may believe.”

Later, after Ludwig had stopped laughing, Gilbert had taken him out to eat and had stocked their freezer with as much ice cream as he could fit inside. He had never said he was sorry but Ludwig thought that the effort he put into making up for it was more than enough. It had taken them months to eat all the ice cream, after all.

He finally arrived at the cafeteria just three minutes before he was supposed to meet Feliciana. He knew that she would most likely be late since she was very rarely on time for anything but he was happy that he was there early regardless. He could see a large portion of campus from outside the door. There were, obviously, buildings that required a long walk and some stamina to get to but almost all of the buildings on central campus were in his line of sight. He could see the quad and all of the academic buildings he had been to throughout the day. He could see his dorm, as well as three other residential buildings. He could even see the cafe he had gotten his hot chocolate from that morning.

He was watching the small bustling crowd of the other building when Feliciana lightly tapped his shoulder, “Are you ready? I’m starving.”

He nodded and gestured for her to lead the way. It only took a handful of minutes to settle down at a two-person table and only seconds after that point for Feliciana to start shoving food in her mouth. Ludwig shifted awkwardly in his seat and started on his own plate, “So, how did you get my brother’s number?”

She blinked owlishly at him, “He told you I called? That’s...well, that’s not what I expected honestly. And I still had it from when we were younger. I figured that out of all people he probably would’ve kept the old one.”

Ludwig shrugged, “That makes sense, I suppose.”

She smiled and leaned forward with her chin on her hands, “So, how did you end up going to school here of all places?”

He looked down at his plate, “It’s quiet here and they have everything I’m interested in. It seemed like the right choice.”

She hummed in that melodic way of hers, “This is one of the best schools for art in the world. Or I guess that its art program is one of the best? After all, it offers a lot of majors outside of the art world. Grandpa thought it’d be good for me to get away from home to do my paintings. Find something new, you know?”

He knew. He remembered her grandfather and his endless search for a new horizon to conquer. He went through hobbies and interests faster than Gil’s two best friends went through women and that was saying something since the two of them operated on a one-night stand basis. Ludwig had always admired the man and his search for the best of the best;  but, he had also always preferred his own mildly boring life to the variable world that Feliciana and her family seemed to live in. He, after all, had never been one for “excitement” as they called it...or instability as he called it.

Feliciana leaned even farther forward and reached toward his hand slowly, “Isn’t it interesting? He sent me here to give me the opportunity to find something worth my time, and I found you. I mean, after all these years? It’s nothing short of amazing if you ask me!”

Was she...flirting with him? He honestly had never quite been able to tell with her...or with anyone, really. He looked to the side nervously, “It certainly wasn’t what I expected.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the boy from class--Alfred wasn’t it?--looking in their direction and he followed his first instinct. He looked back at Feliciana and tried to ignore the look she was giving him, “Isn’t that Alfred?”

If he knew her, and he did, she would--

“Alfie! Come over and sit with us!”

Ludwig breathed a sigh of relief.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! All comments and kudos are appreciated! I hope to see you all next chapter.


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